Under the nonexclusive agreement, effective April 4, 2013, the companies will collaborate on the development of software and devices that incorporate the intellectual property of iRx Reminder and the mMed mobile medication management patent portfolio, for which New Directions is exclusive market developer.

“Combining our patented technologies with the mMed portfolio will let us enhance our SaaS mobile health offering, which already has been shown to reduce dropout rates, improve data accuracy and speed up completion times of clinical trials,” said iRx Reminder founder and CEO Anthony Sterns, Ph.D.

“As a licensee of the mMed patents, iRx Reminder can expand its options for monitoring protocol compliance and improving medication adherence with a variety of drug-delivery systems, including tablets, capsules, injectables and inhalers,” Dr. Sterns continued.

New Directions Managing Director Napoleon Monroe, who is inventor of the mMed patents, said: “There are thousands of mHealth applications today but most provide what we call ‘nagging’ technologies, such as alarmed pillboxes, texting services, and automated phone surveys. But most apps have no tracking, reporting, feedback or interaction for data gathering or education.

“iRx Reminder and New Directions are focused on bidirectional communication, which means extensive communication and reporting capability between patients, their healthcare teams and healthcare insurers,” Monroe explained. “We strongly believe that bidirectional communication and the smartphone as its tool is the collective key to protocol compliance, which is crucial to the success of any clinical trial.”

Exhibiting at ATA 2013

The companies will be represented at booth 1426L at the American Telemedicine Association’s International Meeting & Trade Show in Austin, Texas, May 5-7. iRx Reminder also will present at the Venture Telemedicine Fair, May 5, at 8:30 a.m.

About New Directions Technology Consulting, LLC

New Directions is a New York-based healthcare consultancy that develops commercial opportunities for its corporate and trade and professional associations. With a focus on telemedicine, medication management, advanced drug-delivery systems and healthcare products information management, New Directions is the exclusive market developer of the five issued U.S. mMed patents protecting technology for mobile medication management. Henry Schein, Inc., is the assignee of the mMed patents. For more information, see http://www.mmedhealth.com

About iRx Reminder, LLC

iRx Reminder is an Akron, Ohio-based mobile health application service provider focused on medicine, device, and behavior research. The iRx Reminder app, available in the Apple App Store, is a customizable, bidirectional research tool that is used to conduct intervention studies of patients with chronic conditions, such as diabetes, pulmonary and heart disease, and cancer. The company has projects completed or in progress with such institutions as Case Western Reserve University, Kent State University, University of Wisconsin, and Summa Health System. The company plans to evolve, with FDA approval as a medical device, into being a complete, patient-centered clinical management and education system supporting population-health-management goals. For more information, see www.irxreminder.com